Albany Commission approves $82,500 design contract for pickleball courts, reduces city manager spending limit

ALBANY — A tennis and pickleball project got a nudge forward with the city of Albany agreeing to share costs in an engineering and surveying study at Tift Park.

Dougherty County approved its share of a $202,640 contract with Leesburg-based EMC engineering at the North Jefferson Street park area.

The Albany City Commission unanimously approved funding its share — $82,500 — using revenue raised by a special-purpose local-option sales tax. The funds will come from money earmarked for recreation and approved by voters.

The county has tentatively identified the site as the location for a proposed tennis center with 12 traditional courts and a pro shop, which it would operate. The proposal calls for the city to develop a pickleball area with courts that could double as courts for use in junior tennis tournament play.

While the city has not committed to the project or set aside tax dollars for funding, the project is one that has long been envisioned.

For the project to become a reality, Ward IV Commissioner Chad Warbington said, the city and county need to establish a working relationship for planning.

“We need to have input into the project, like the size” of the clubhouse, he said. “We’re over in our silo and they’re over in their silo. It seems like we need to be forming a group.”

The two government bodies should coordinate to ensure that the promised facility becomes a reality, Warbington said. In the event the county decides budgetary limits allow a smaller number of courts, for example, the city would need to take that into consideration.

“There should be a group deciding between the city and county on how many courts we’re going to have,” the city commissioner said.

The city also has other priorities that call for the use of recreation dollars, and those should not be neglected, Ward VI Commissioner Demetrious Young said.Specifically Young was referring to renovation or replacement of the recreation centers at Henderson and Bill Miller gyms.

Plans for renovations for those facilities, both built in the 1970s, hit a snag when it was discovered both facilities are within the 100-year flood plain. Since that discovery, commissioners have called for the development of a recreation master plan.

“These two gyms have been in need for a long time,” Young said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. “I understand the pause, but that was some time ago. We had a conversation last summer, and now we’re coming up on another summer. We had discussions and things kind of stopped.”

In other business, the commission:

— Overturned a previous commission ordinance allowing the city manager purchasing authority of up to $100,000 without board approval and returning that limit to $40,000. Commissioners Jon Howard, Warbington, Young, and Mayor Bo Dorough voted to re-establish the lesser amount.

— Approved construction of three concrete speed tables in the 2300 block of East Doublegate Drive at a cost of $18,300.

— Approved a contract with Lose Design to provide design and construction document services to implement the approved master plan for Driskell Park at an estimated cost of $192,500.

— Voted to accept a community development block grant in the amount of $855,000 for a comprehensive property assessment and resilience plan. Information developed through the work will be used in plans to make the city more resilient in the event of disasters, and the grant does not require the city to provide matching funds.

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